Italian
Towards the north of the Serengeti
Having breakfast under a large tent admiring the acacias, the expanses as far as the eye can see, with the birds that start singing at dawn, surrounded by the unmistakable scent of the savannah … and of freshly brewed coffee, is, for me, every time, an emotion that words cannot sufficiently describe. I feel at home.
Today too we will have several kilometers to travel. We will have to reach the extreme north of the Serengeti, near the Mara River in the hope that, in the next few days, wildebeests and zebras decide to cross it migrating north. It would be extraordinary to be lucky enough to witness one of the phases of the great migration, which is the purpose of our trip!A long stretch will be inside the park and therefore there will be plenty of opportunity to see many animals.
In fact, as soon as we leave the camp, we encounter a herd of zebras crossing the track, a large solitary elephant, antelopes. Suddenly I observe two giraffes on the side of the track that are moving in a strange way.
We stop the off-road vehicle and are lucky enough to witness a ritual called “necking”, a fight to conquer the females. The giraffes positioned close to each other, observe each other, then lower their long necks by swinging them and then hit the chest of the other with their ossicones (the bones they have on their heads as if they were small horns).
The neck of these animals, which can exceed 2 meters, is of fundamental importance. It is used for defense, to fight between males (as in the case we are observing) and also to be able to reach the highest shoots of the acacias, up to a little more than 4 meters high, not accessible to other herbivores. They are the tallest animals in existence, with extraordinary legs that allow them to gallop despite their height, but also to deliver deadly kicks to predators that attack them. Their weak point is drinking: in front of the puddles, they have to spread their legs and bend their necks to the water, in a precarious position with the risk of being captured by crocodiles.
The fight goes on for several minutes then a third male arrives who also seems ready to fight but then they move away in single file. Probably the dominant male has had the upper hand 1.
The journey continues through these territories that you never get used to! We cross a river observing, not far away, some hippos snorting in the water. Towards evening, just before arriving at our lodge, we come across a small herd of elephants that are feeding.
They fiddle with their trunks to grab and break branches, they shake a trunk with their heads and large tusks to make some seeds fall. They are incredibly strong, but funny and tender at the same time.
At sunset we reach our camp not far from the Mara River which will be the base for excursions in search of the “Great Migration”.
1 Some curiosities about these animals…” Giraffes have interacted with humans for millennia, leaving a deep imprint on the culture of many civilizations. The San of southern Africa practice a healing dance dedicated to the giraffe, used to treat head diseases. …Depictions of giraffes are found in the art of many African peoples, including the Kiffians, Egyptians, and the Nubians of Meroe. Among these, a life-size rock carving created by the Kiffians stands out, considered the largest petroglyph in the world. The Egyptians gave the giraffe its own hieroglyph, “sr” in ancient Egyptian and “mmy” in later times, and raised giraffes as pets, transporting them by ship in the Mediterranean…
